The 'Other' Operation Rebirth
by HopeOnAMockingjayWing
Summary: Alice Williams lives in Brooklyn, since her parents split up when she was 12. At the age of 14, her English mother dies, forcing her to live with her isolated father in Brooklyn. Things get interesting when she meets Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up, shivering. I was in my room, and I could hear the wireless in the background. Everything felt normal, except the last thing I remember is falling into something cold. I stand up and hear something leather hit the floor. I rub my eyes and pick it up gently. It was my journal. Smiling gently, my hand opened the cover. I loved the sound it made, like leaves drifting in the wind. I read the first entry, a little disoriented.

'Saturday December 10th, 1932.

I hate Brooklyn. It's one of the dullest places I could ever imagine living in. Dad's as isolated as ever, always poring over some plans for a car. I can't believe he's acting like this! Mum only died a month ago and he's acting like nothing happened! It's as if he doesn't think it happened – like I moved in out of choice! I miss Buxton. At least there I could just go outside and wander in the fields. I keep seeing these two boys at school. They're always together and the smaller one keeps getting beat up. If I could try and get past the bullies, maybe I could help him. But the bullies are boys, and boys and I don't mix well. At all.'

I grinned. I remembered that. I was fourteen at the time and boys terrified me. Since it was a short extract I decided to read the next one. That was before I remembered a little more of what had happened before right now. I'd been running, sprinting even. I was trying to get to something and it was futile. That's when I froze in my memories. Literally. I shuddered. I could hear voices. They definitely weren't my father's.

I read the next entry nervously.

'Monday, December 12th, 1932.

Ok, maybe Brooklyn isn't so bad. I never thought I'd actually say this, but I have friends! I stopped the bullies. They "Didn't want to hit a girl" and walked off. The smaller boy, who I now know as Steven Grant Rogers, thanked me. It had been nothing really, but I'd saved him from being totally beaten to a pulp again. The larger boy, James Buchanan Barnes, seemed impressed by my show of courage, so he asked me if I wanted to go around town later. "My dad doesn't really bother too much about me, so it'd be nice to get shown around." The boys looked a little shocked by my accent, so they asked me if I was British. Of course, I nodded. They told me I could just call them Steve and Bucky, instead of James and Steven, as I'd been calling them up until that point. I think I'll go read for bit.'

"She's finally stable." One of the voices said.

"Physically, yes. Emotionally and psychologically, we haven't checked." Another voice said.

I stood up and looked around. No. This wasn't right. My alarm clock was always on the left side of my bed, not the right. I gulped as I realised something. My father had been declared Missing In Action. Who the heck was talking that was in my house? I dropped the journal and looked around for a weapon. My eyes locked on the drawer by my bed, but it wouldn't open. I looked around, agitated.

"Miss Alice Williams, please calm down." I heard a man say.

"Who exactly are you? And where the hell am I?" I ask, my voice barely shaking.

"We'll have time for that later. But for now, come with me." He says, as a panel in the wall slid open.

I must have looked shocked, because the man explains, "You mustn't have had stuff like this in 1945 then, had you?" he asks. I shook my head.

"I'm Director Nick Fury. Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. The world's changed a lot." He says. He had an eye patch and he looked very serious and stern.

I picked up my journal carefully. "It's not 1945, is it?" I ask quietly.

Fury raised an eyebrow. "No. it's 2014."

I look at him. "Was Howard Stark right? Are there flying cars?" I ask eagerly.

"No…"Fury says. I sigh.

"What happened to me?" I ask.

Fury looks at the journal. "It's best if you read that first." He says. I nod.

He shows me out of the room and I sit down in a boardroom. A few people filed in, a man with black hair and glasses, who seemed to know exactly what was going on, a man with dark brown hair and a beard, who seemed to be poking fun at the other man. There was a woman with red hair walking with a guy with an ashy-blonde spiked mess of hair. He smirked at me and I frowned. Then a tall, strong-looking man came in, wearing a chequered flannel shirt and a brown leather jacket. My eyes widened as he came in. "Steve." I whispered. He looked at me as if he didn't know me and I couldn't help but feel a little hurt. Everyone settled down. I was sat across the table from Steve and he looked me up and down, looking confused.

"This is Alice Williams. It's best if she finds out most of what happened to her by herself, but you should all introduce yourselves." Fury says.

The man with the black hair and glasses smiled. "I'm Bruce Banner." He said with a smile. I nodded a little, disoriented and confused.

"Tony Stark, genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist at your service." The man with a beard says with a smirk. Steve shot him a glare.

"He's a self-centred toaster, like his machines." Steve muttered and I smiled a little.

The red-headed woman looked at me. "Natasha Romanoff." She says simply. I liked the way she addressed me. It was calm and relaxed.

The only remaining person I didn't know smirked at me. "Clint Barton, Hawkeye. I'll be assessing your shooting skills." He says.

Steve looks at me. "I'm-" I interrupt him.

"Steven Grant Rogers. Captain America." I say quietly.

He looks shocked. "How did you-" he says. I stand up.

"Known you since we were fourteen. Saved you several times." I say, walking out of the room. Steve watched me and I heard him speaking to Nick. "Who is she?" he asked.

I looked back for a split second, before running back to the room I'd woken up in and curling under the quilt with my journal. I had some reading to do.

'Tuesday, December 13th, 1932.

Today was Interesting. Steve was getting beat up again, but I got in front of him and got punched myself. I reacted badly and punched back. Last time I hit the principal's son. I've got detention every day after school for two weeks now. I guess I deserved it. Steve's being really apologetic, even though I've told him I'll be ok. Some of the other boys started talking to me. I didn't like it, but I was too afraid to tell them so. That was when I put Bucky in front of me. Then they left me alone. Bucky and Steve don't try to make me talk or do anything I'm uncomfortable with. We mainly just sit and I read and they talk about other things while making sure the guys don't get too close. I return the favour and get in the way when the bullies are trying to get to Steve. It's a good system really. I guess I should sleep now. I'll write in again tomorrow.'

I finished reading and sat up. We'd mutually saved each other from embarrassment on a daily basis and he didn't even know who I was. A small tear trickled down my face.

"I don't think she's emotionally stable yet. We'll leave her for now." I hear Nick say, and Steve's voice replies, "But who is she?"

"I think the next few weeks will bring a lot to light about you both. You should probably rest, New York was only last week." Fury replies.

Steve sighed and walked away. Fury did the same. I curled my knees up against my chest and read another entry.

'Tuesday, December 27th 1932.

Dad took my journal while I was on detention. I wasn't allowed to talk to Steve or Bucky outside school and it was horrible. I wasn't even allowed to read. I had literally nothing to do. It was honestly torturous. Christmas was nice. Dad didn't bother me much, just put my presents outside my room and went back to reading his plans. It was great. I got some new clothes, a few books, a few other miscellaneous things and an orange.'

I finished reading and sighed. I was going to have a long night reading this.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm annoyed at myself to say that I fell asleep before I could read another entry. I dreamt of war, bullets whistling, bombs crashing. It didn't have a plot, just endless war. I remember a little more of what happened immediately before I woke up. I was running to get to the cockpit of an airship when I turned cold. It bugged me, not knowing what had happened. I read the next entry.

_'__Wednesday 28__th__December 1932_

_Steve and Bucky came over today. We played monopoly and ate cookies. I won, as per usual. Dad walked in and gave them both 'the look' and walked out. I couldn't help laughing, the boys both looked confused. _

_"__That's 'the look'. He said if I ever brought boys round he'd look at them like that." I'd explained._

_Bucky smiled but Steve just looked a little confused still._

_"__Never mind. It's not important." Bucky had replied. We finished our game and ate more cookies. It was fun and relaxed, and they even asked me if I was doing anything for New Year's eve. Of course, I didn't, so I shook my head. _

_"__You should come to Brooklyn bridge to watch the fireworks with us!" Steve suggested. I was almost tearing up at the fact that I was being asked to go to an event with someone. I said yes and they told me to meet them on Saturday night at 8 o'clock. We sat and laughed as I beat them both at monopoly again. It was getting late, so they both walked home before I started reading again. I've just looked at the clock and it's nearly midnight. Time flies when you're reading, I guess.'_

I looked thoughtfully at the diary and smiled a little. "I must've been a lonely girl." I couldn't stop wondering what had happened and why Steve couldn't remember me. My legs were numb and the 'wireless' was playing music, so I started dancing. It was 'Remarkable Girl', one of my favourites from 'the old days' and I danced a quickstep to it, smiling. It felt like normal, even though it wasn't. After dancing, I picked my journal up again.

_'__Sunday, 1__st__January 1933._

_Last night was amazing! We didn't have firework shows quite so extravagant in Buxton and this was just… Wow. I'm not sure how they did it so well, but they did. It was just amazing and we stayed out until the new year. Of course, none of the three of us followed the tradition of kissing on New year's eve, although… No. No way. I can't think of Steve like that! Or can I…'_

After that, there were several nondescript entries, detailing boring events that, even then, I'd found tedious. Around 6 o'clock, there came the time that I was expected to go downstairs and eat. Fury came to find me and took me down to the normal cafeteria where everyone else was. By the time I'd got my food (cheeseburger and fries) the only free seat was between Steve and Clint, opposite Stark. I sighed exasperatedly and sat down.

"Hey, Alice." Steve said a little awkwardly. Stark rolled his eyes. I could tell Steve was nervous and confused about me, and my eyes stung threateningly, with tears ready to spill down my face.

"Calm it, Capsicle." Stark smirked, talking to Steve.

"What do you remember about New Year's eve, 1932. Who were you with?" I ask quietly.

Steve shifts in his seat uncomfortably. "Bucky and I went to Brooklyn bridge to see the fireworks." He said after a moment of thought.

I took a deep breath and finished my burger and drank the last of my drink. "I was with you." I say, before taking my plate back and walking back to my 'old-fashioned' room. I burst into tears when I was there. I wanted to throw things around, but I knew I had to avoid being destructive, so I read the next important entry. It was from a few years later, but all entries beforehand didn't seem important.

_'__Friday 20__th__February 1942._

_I finally got work as a nurse today! I'm so happy and I can't wait to tell Bucky and Steve. Dad's off at war, so I can't tell him. Mum would be proud of me. She was a teacher when she was alive.'_

I sighed, remembering that. I settled down again, to continue my reading.

_'__Saturday 21__st__February 1942._

_I feel so alone. Dad got declared Killed In Action, Bucky's going off to war and Steve's being all secretive. All he's told me is that he's going away but won't tell me why. I can't bear to see him get hurt, so I did something reckless and stupid. I did something brave. I went to the doctor who'd assessed him, Doctor Erskine. I'm kind of glad I did it to be perfectly honest. I went up to him. _

_"__Are you the doctor that assessed Steve?" I asked. He nodded._

_"__Indeed I am." He said. _

_"__Steve told me that he was going away and I'm really worried about him and-" I began, but Erskine cut across me._

_"__You care about him a lot." He mutters._

_"__look. I'm not stupid. Steve's not fit for duty and why is he suddenly in uniform? I know something's up and if you're going to do anything to Steve, I don't want him getting hurt." I said._

_He looked at me. "You don't give up easily, do you?" he asked._

_I shook my head. "No. I don't give up easily and I'm not going to. Look, if you're going to… if you're going to experiment on him…" I was almost crying out of worry._

_"__You must have worked hard to find me." He says, avoiding the subject._

_"__Yes. It took me a while, but I managed to piece it together. Now what are you going to do to Steve?" I say._

_"__He's going for tests. There's going to be a serum used on him. We aren't sure which of the serums will work best." He said._

_"__Do you need someone to test them on?" I ask, not wanting Steve to get hurt more than was necessary. _

_Erskine nodded. "Is that you volunteering?" he asked._

_I nodded. "Yes." I replied simply._

_"__Ok. I'll need to fill in a form for you."_

_"__Thank you." I'd replied._

_Once we'd filled in the form, he asked me if I needed time to go back and tell my family I was leaving, but I explained that I had no-one left. Erskine looked saddened, but nodded. "I'll tell Steve-" he began, but I shook my head._

_"__He'll tell me to stay in Brooklyn. It'd be useless." I said in reply._

_"__Welcome to operation rebirth, Alice Williams." He'd replied. _

_I'm terrified, excited and worried at the same time. Let's see how it goes! I don't even know what this whole operation thing is about, but hopefully it's going to save Steve some trouble.'_

Hawkeye came to the door. "Hey, want to come do some training?" he asks. I nodded and walked out of my room. I needed to try to settle down in this time.

I picked up a gun and shot it into the target until it was empty. There was only one hole, since they'd all hit dead centre. I smiled and relaxed a little. I liked shooting things. Saying it like that made me sound crazy, though.

"Hey. You're pretty good at using that gun, Alice" Clint said with a smile. "Ever thought of using a bow and arrow?" he asked.

I turned to face him. "No, I haven't actually." I say with a little smile.

"Should be easy, given your abilities from Operation Rebirth." He replied.

I frowned. "Sorry, not upto that bit in my journal yet." I say.

He raised an eyebrow. "Your eyesight was dramatically improved and you are able to use any weapon with minimal training." He said.

I smiled. "That's useful." I say, picking up a bow and arrow and firing it effortlessly into the target. It hits the centre ring, but not quite dead centre.

"How long was I- why was I asleep for almost 70 years?" I ask.

Clint thinks for a moment. "You got frozen, like Steve did. We only found you a couple days ago. At first they doubted you could have survived. They thought you were normal, that you were dead, but perfectly preserved. They still had hope though, when they identified you as the 'missing test subject'." He says.

I looked down. "So I got frozen with him?" I ask.

He nodded. "You were around 20 metres away from where we found Steve."

I looked confused. "I – I have some reading to do." I say, running to my room. I'd already dropped the bow and arrow on the floor.

I curled up in my bed, confused. I read another entry.

_'__Sunday, 22__rd__February 1942._

_I don't know why I even bothered trying to be nice to Peggy Carter. I don't know why, she kind of just aggravates me. I know she's only got the best intentions, but with her, there's always a fault. Oh well. On Monday, they're taking me for the tests. It's really nerve-racking and I'm terrified. I've been told it's going to be painful and I just don't want Steve to have to go through anything like that. I guess I'm going to see him after we've both had the procedure. I'm actually really looking forward to it!'_

My mind raced. Reading another entry was the only way to clear things up.

_'__Monday, 23__rd__February 1942_

_Ow. Everything is aching. I'm so sore from the procedure. I'm a bit taller. I was 5 feet tall before the procedure. Now I'm 5 and a half feet tall. My hips are wider and how shall I say… my 'womanly features' are generally enhanced, if you know what I mean. None of my old clothes will ever fit me properly now, will they?_

_I'm nervous about meeting Steve again. What if he gets angry at me for doing this? What if he sees me differently because of it? Will he still be my friend? Will we be working together? There are too many questions in my head right now. They used 5 different serums on me, in order to see what's best to give to Steve. I don't need glasses anymore and I understood exactly what they were doing after the first serum. I think they all enhanced different parts of me. One was physical, one mental (to increase intellect and intelligence), one for personality (to amplify existing personality traits, so for me, probably intense stubbornness but willing to follow orders and determination) and two mystery ones that they wouldn't explain to me. I've been told that Steve was going to have a mixture of two serums. The Physical one and the mental one. I was glad, since having five separate ones used on me was absolute agony. I think we nearly blew up the lab doing it. Nearly. They've decided on the best ratio for the serum and Steve's going for the procedure in a few days' time. I hope he'll be ok.'_

Okay, now it was making sense. I looked down at myself. "Yeah. 'Womanly features' enhanced. That's for sure." I said with a smirk. I looked around my room. I needed to calm the heck down, stop bursting into tears and get a grip. That's a plan. I wrote it down on a piece of paper, before adding 'catch up with technology and everything in general'.

I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep. I dreamt of operation rebirth, being in a lab for hours while they assessed everything about me. Even in my sleep, my mind had firmly resolved to get a grip and stay calm.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the characters, apart from Alice. I also do NOT own any of the bands/artists mentioned.

* * *

I woke up, full of energy and ready to go. I heard a knock on the door and called out to whoever it was. "Come in!"

I had been expecting Fury, but instead Natasha and Clint came in, smiling.

"We've been assigned to help you catch up with the world." Natasha smirked.

I smiled. "Let me guess… Music, Technology and Media in general?"

Clint nodded. "Yeah. Going through the decades in media and Music, but technology, there's no point trying to teach you stuff from the 70s. It's not like you'll need it." He laughed.

"There's a modern room waiting for you, when you're ready." Natasha added.

I grinned. They were helping me without even knowing it.

"Like the accent by the way. Very unusual around here." Clint smirked.

I laughed, not realising that I had a different accent. I'd gotten used to being around people with American accents quite quickly. I stood up, grabbing my diary. "Let's go." I say.

They lead me down a twisting corridor, until we reached a room with my name on it. I raised an eyebrow.

"There was quite a buzz going around when they found you in the ice. They couldn't think of anything better than having both of the Operation: Rebirth subjects in the team. Got very excited." Natasha said. I smiled, a little sheepishly. I didn't like being the centre of attention, I was nothing special. I was just a kid from Buxton.

I walked in and everything looked so sleek. There was a white cabin bed in the corner, with simple-looking sheets, but the closer you got, the more visible the little sequins in the shape of butterflies became. "Woah…" I gasped.

I could tell Clint and Natasha were smiling at my reactions. I turned around. Everything had a theme, and I liked it. It had pink floral pattern wallpaper with a green background and gold detail on the flowers. All the storage units, including the drawers under the bed were white.

"Let's get down to business…" Natasha begins, before Tony walks past and sings.

"To defeat the huns." He grins, knowing I didn't understand that reference.

Clint sighed and shook his head. "No Disney references until she's seen the movies, ok, tin man?"

Tony raises an eyebrow. "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz." he sings.

"I understand that reference!" I exclaim.

Tony sighs. "Another capcicle." He mutters, walking off.

Natasha shook her head. "Anyway… Let's catch you up on a few things. Music first. 1950s, is the decade we'll look at to begin with." She says, pointing to the speaker system in the corner. She put a device into it, around the size of a hand.

"iPod. It's like a device that holds your music." Clint explains. I nod a little.

Natasha loads a song. "Elvis Presley. Hound dog." She says.

It sounded somewhat similar to the music I used to like and I had to resist the urge to dance around. It was apparently evident in my face, because Hawkeye laughed. "Want to dance?" he asked.

"Is that an offer?" I smirk.

Natasha cleared her throat.

"No, I was kidding." He said. I sat down on my bed and the two master assassins sat next to me

"I actually like this." I smiled a little, wondering what life back then was like.

After a while, I memorized the lyrics. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time." I sang quietly. The song changed to 'That's All Right Mama' and I tapped my foot to the beat.

"So this is Elvis. Also known as 'Elvis with the Pelvis' to some people. He died on the toilet, apparently." Clint shrugged.

"On the toilet?" I asked doubtfully.

Natasha nodded. "Apparently."

I shrugged. Eventually, the song changed again, to Nat King Cole's 'Love' and I smiled.

Clint looked at Natasha, smiling. Natasha smiled back, barely hiding the fact she was blushing. I smiled. "You two make a cute couple." I said, smiling. They both looked at me.

"Us? Wait, no! No. we're just… uh…" they say in unison

"Admit it, you two! Just get it out there!" Tony chimed in from the room next door.

They both turned red. "Fine…" Natasha said.

"Got ya!" Tony called through, and I could hear the grin in his voice.

Natasha shook her head. Once again, I got the words quickly. "L is for the way you look at me, O is for the only one I see, V is very very, extraordinary, E is even more than anyone that you adore and Love is more than just a game for two." I sing.

"You're a pretty good singer." Clint complimented me. I smiled.

"I'm not that good." I laugh.

"Time for the 60s!" Natasha announced as the beach boys came on.

It was 'Little Deuce Coup' and I listened carefully with a smile.

Before I could memorise the words, I heard Steve down the hallway, whistling to it.

I sighed. I was going to stay calm and get a grip. That was my plan. I wasn't about to give up now.

He looked into my room and smiled faintly. "Beach Boys?" he asked and Natasha nodded.

I smiled a little. "You want to stay with us? You were only defrosted a couple of weeks back." Clint asked.

Steve shrugged. "Why not." He said, sitting down so we were in this order : Steve, Me, Natasha then Clint. I wanted to lean against Steve, for reasons I didn't quite understand, but I resisted the urge.

The song changed to 'She Loves you yeah yeah yeah' and I smiled.

Steve hummed along quietly. "The beatles?" he guessed.

Clint grinned. "You're learning."

We all sat there, listening to music. My journal lay in my lap, closed.

"One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small and the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all. Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall." The song had changed.

"White Rabbit, by Jefferson Airplane." Natasha said to me. I nodded.

"I'm not that tall." I say with a smirk. "But I'm guessing this is based on Alice in Wonderland?" I asked.

Clint laughed quietly, nodding.

"And if you go, chasing rabbits and you know you're going to fall…" the song carried on playing.

"Yeah. White rabbit." I smile.

"And we're into the 70s!" Clint announced with a grin.

"Packing up, shacking up's all you wanna do. If I could baby I'd give you my world. How can I, if you won't take it from me? You can go your own way. You can call it another lonely day." The recording played on.

"Fleetwood Mac. Go your own way?" Steve asked.

"Stop guessing." Natasha smiled.

I laughed quietly. Steve smiled, and I knew he was still curious about me.

"Sweet home Alabama. Where the skies are so blue. Sweet home Alabama, lord I'm coming home to you." Clint sang along to the next song.

"Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd." Natasha sighed. It was clear she wasn't too keen on this kind of music.

Steve smiled. "So how are you settling in, Alice?" he asks.

"I'm doing pretty ok." I shrug.

"IT WAS ACCEPTABLE IN THE EIGHTIES!" Tony yelled in reference to the next decade we were about to hear from. I smiled.

"It was acceptable at the time." Clint yells back.

Tony chuckled from the other room.

"Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She Took a midnight train going anywhere. Just a city boy born and raised in south Detroit. He took a midnight train going anywhere. A singer in a smoky room, smell of wine and cheap perfume. For a smile they can share the night it goes on and on and on and on. Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard, there's shadows searching in the night. Street lights, people Living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the night! Working hard to get my fill, everybody wants a thrill. They'd give anything to roll the dice, just one more time. Some will win some will lose, some are born to sing the blues. Though the movie never ends it goes on and on and on and on. Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard, there's shadows searching in the night. Street lights, people Living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the night! Don't stop believing." The song went.

"Don't stop believing by Journey." Tony calls through. I smile.

"This one goes out to the one I love. This one goes out to the one I left behind. A simple prop to occupy my time. This one goes out to the one I love. Fire! Fire!" I swayed a little to this song.

"This one's pretty good." I say. "I'm guessing the title is either 'Fire' or 'The one I love'?" I ask.

"The one I love." Natasha tells me. "I think she's going to like your stuff, Clint." She sighs, but Hawkeye grinned.

"I need an easy friend. I do with an ear to lend. I do think you fit this shoe. I do don't you have a clue. I'll take advantage while you hang me out to dry but I can't see you every night." I thought about this one.

"I actually don't have a clue." I laugh.

"Nirvana?" Steve asks.

Natasha nodded. "About a girl." She smiled.

"We're into the 2000s now." Clint grinned. "Welcome to the world of Fall Out Boy, My Chemical romance and GreenDay, sunshine." He said. I smirked.

"It's all a game of this or that, now versus then, better off against worse for wear. And you're someone who knows someone who knows someone I once knew And I just want to be a part of this. The road outside my house is paved with good intentions. Hired a construction crew, 'cause it's hell on the engine. You are the dreamer and we are the dream. I could write it better than you ever felt it. So hum hallelujah, Just off the key of reason. I thought I loved you, It was just how you looked in the light. A teenage vow in a parking lot 'Till tonight do us part' I sing the blues and swallow them too." I heard it and I looked thoughtful.

"I like them…" I said quietly.

Clint smirked. "Knew it. It's fall out boy, their earlier stuff, before they split up."

Steve frowned, "I'm still not too sure. They're not bad, just not my favourites." He said.

"The Overtones then?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, they're more my thing." Steve smiled.

"Song name?" I asked.

"Hum Hallelujah." Clint says.

I nodded.

"My chemical romance time!" Clint announced.

I smiled a little, running a hand through my chocolate brown hair casually.

"When I was a young boy, My father took me into the city To see a marching band. He said, 'Son when you grow up, would you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten and the damned?' He said 'Will you defeat them, your demons, and all the non-believers, the plans that they have made? Because one day I'll leave you, A phantom to lead you in the summer,To join The Black Parade.'" The new song played.

"This one, I like." Steve says.

"Black Parade?" I asked.

"Good guess, you're right." Clint smiled.

Eventually, the song stopped and a new one began.

"Little girl, little girl, why are you crying? Inside your restless soul your heart is dying? Little one, little one, your soul is purging Of love and razor blades your blood is surging. Run away From the river to the street and find yourself with your face in the gutter. You're a stray for the salvation army. There is no place like home when you got no place to go." I nodded to the music.

"Green Day." Natasha groaned. "Definitely not one of my favourites." She muttered, playing with a little gold bracelet on her wrist.

"To the modern day!" she announced, a little more cheerfully.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "This is Clint's music. If you _really_ want to listen to music, here's some."

"We clawed, we chained our hearts in vain. We jumped never asking why. We kissed, I fell under your spell.A love no one could deny. Don't you ever say I just walked away. I will always want you. I can't live a lie, running for my life. I will always want you. I came in like a wrecking ball. I never hit so hard in love. All I wanted was to break your walls. All you ever did was wreck me. Yeah, you, you wreck me." Natasha sang along.

Both mine and Steve's faces contorted in disgust. "Yeah, no. No. I don't like it." I said, frowning.

Clint grinned. "She's going to be into my kinda music."

Natasha sighed and looked at Clint. "Fine. Light 'em up." She sighed.

"IN THE DARK!" Stark chimed in.

Clint laughed, putting on another song. "Is this Fall Out Boy Again?" I asked, to which he responded with a little nod. I smiled.

"Be careful making wishes in the dark, can't be sure when they're hit their mark. Besides in the meantime I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart. I'm in the deep details with the devil so the world can never get me on my level. I just gotta get you out the cage, Im a young lovers rage, gonna need a spark to ignite. My songs know what you did in the dark… So light 'em up up up, light 'em up up up. Light 'em up up up." The song came. This, so far, was my favourite song.

"I'M ON FIRE!" Stark sang, the grin obvious in his voice.

"This is my favourite so far." I laugh.

We kept listening to the song. I smiled, and after a while, I could sing along to the chorus. A new song replaced the old one and we were listening to something quite subdued, mainly on an acoustic guitar, it seemed.

Steve's face changed until he was grinning. "Waking up to ash and dust, wipe my brow and I sweat my rust, breathing in the chemicals. Breaking in, shaping up and checking out on the prison bus. This is it the apocalypse. I'm waking up I feel it in my bones, enough to make my systems flow. Welcome to the new age, to the new age. Oh woah oh I'm, oh woah oh I'm Radioactive! Radioactive!" he sings along with a smile.

I laughed a little. He looked at me. "I like this one too." I say.

"Can we put some Arcade fire on? At least then it's common ground…" Natasha sighed.

Clint smiled, putting on a new-sounding music.

"Let's go downtown and watch the modern kids. Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids. They will eat right out of your hand. Using great big words that they don't understand. They're singing: Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo. Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo. They build it up just to burn it back down. They build it up just to burn it back down. The wind is blowing all the ashes around. Oh my dear God what is that horrible song they're singin'" I smiled, enjoying it.

"Yay! We have common ground in music taste! Partially." Natasha said sarcastically.

"Well, that's you pretty well caught up on music, I guess. We'll do technology another time. I guess we should train for a bit or something, unless you have anything you particularly want to do?" Clint asked.

My stomach grumbled in answer and I laughed. "Lunch seems like an agreeable idea." Steve smiled. I laughed a little, standing up and putting my journal down on the bed as we all filed down to the cafeteria. I picked up some pizza with a smile, getting a glass of cola. I wasn't too unfamiliar with this. Tony sat on one side of me, Steve on the other and I must've looked uncomfortable, because Doctor Banner mouthed to me 'Is that awkward?' and I nodded, smiling. He came over, having picked up some food from the serving area and sat opposite me.

"So, ever been in a lab?" he asked with a smile.

"Not since Rebirth." I shrugged.

Steve frowned, but I ignored it. I would've continued ignoring it, if Steve hadn't started asking me questions.

"You went through Operation Rebirth? What? How? When?" he asked, and I clenched my fists, trying to stay calm.

"Cap, chill it." Bruce said calmly, "Give her a chance to explain."

"Yes. To stop you from having five different serums used on you." I say. "It was a few days before you went through it." I take a bite of Pizza.

Steve hesitates "So you knew me?" he asks.

I nod.

He responds with a simple "Oh."


	4. Chapter 4

I sat next to Banner in the lab. He smiled as he taught me how to use these computers.

"I guess it's not too hard. I had several serums used on me. Five, actually. One Physical, one mental, one personality. The other two were mysteries. I'm not that far in yet." I say, tapping my journal, which was on the desk next to me.

"I'm guessing mental was for intellect and stuff?" he asked.

I nodded. "Pretty much. I can pick up any subject incredibly quickly, as I'm finding now." I said, typing quickly into the computer.

"What even are you doing?" he said, looking over my shoulder and smiling.

I shrugged. "Nothing really." I lied. Really, I was programming a game where the player shot at a picture of Tony Stark.

"Then why are you programming a game that means you can shoot Tony without physically killing him?" he chuckled.

"Hey, a 95-year-old woman's got to find fun somewhere." I shrugged, laughing.

"Did someone say my name?" Tony called from the other side of the lab.

"No…" I say.

"Of course you didn't." he says, and I can tell he doesn't believe it.

I stopped programming the game and I started up reading another entry of the journal.

_'__Thursday 26__th__February 1942,_

_OK. Meeting Steve again after the operation wasn't completely dreadful. He was shocked because Peggy said 'There's someone I want you to… re-meet.' And he thought it was Bucky. No, it was me, sat there in army gear with a file in front of me. He was so confused, his face froze. _

_"__Hey." I'd said. _

_"__Uh….." was all he could reply with. _

_I laughed a little. "Yeah, it's me." I say._

_"__Alice?" he asked._

_I'd laughed and he'd hugged me. _

_"__How are you feeling?" I asked. Peggy was sat, watching our reunion._

_"__Taller, but never mind that! Why are you here?" he asked._

_"__I didn't want you to have to go through more serums than was necessary." I'd shrugged._

_Steve looked down. "One serum was agonising… How did you go through several?" he looked worried._

_"__Two hour breaks in between." I'd smiled._

_He looked at me as if I were crazy, but he didn't look like it was a bad thing. He looked at me with a smile of half admiration and half… well, I wasn't quite sure.'_

I heard Steve come in with Clint. They exchanged a few quiet words with Banner and Stark, who looked over at me.

"You sure she's ready?" Banner asked nervously.

"Yeah. I think she's ready for her first mission." Clint says.

I closed my journal. "So, what are we doing?" I asked with an eager smile.

Clint looked at me. "Two possible threats headed towards us. One with a bad temper, the other… less hostile. We need to neutralise them one way or another." He says.

"I think I'm up for it." I shrugged.

Steve raised an eyebrow. "It's going to be you, Barton and I." he says.

"Is that a bad thing?" I tease.

Clint smiled. "No, but we best get going." He said.

I nodded and followed Clint and Steve to the weapons room, where I was given a suit of light-weight, slim-fitting white armour and given my choice of weapons. I picked out a few small guns and put them in the holsters on my hips. I picked out two long daggers and slid them into the small sheaths incorporated into the inside of my boots. Steve grinned at my choice of weapons, as he picked up his shield off a peg on the wall. Smiling, I turned to see Agent Barton pick up a quiver of arrows and his bow that extended when he flicked it.

"So what have they been doing to gain the title of 'threat'? Just so I know what we're up against." I ask.

"Taking out scores of our operatives in single strokes. They decided to send us instead of the regular grunts." Clint said grumpily while tying up his boots. I sighed. Steve looked uncomfortable with the use of the phrase 'regular grunts' and I understood completely. He'd always disliked the notion that someone was unimportant or run-of-the-mill.

We stepped into the helicopter, waiting to take us to the small base where the attacks were happening. From what I could remember, it had been a barracks Steve and I had visited during the Captain America campaign. The journey wasn't long, ten minutes at most and we devised strategies to either take the targets hostage or take them out. We came out quietly and quickly, ready to attack if necessary. Hawkeye stood behind Cap and I, since he was better at long range than us and could shoot the targets down if they came up from behind.

I walked into the barracks, hands by my sides, not too far from my guns if I needed them. Shouting echoed from a room down the corridor and I recognised it as a thick Scottish accent.

"We need to get moving!" a younger voice said.

"Memories take a lot of time. Give me ten minutes and we can leave." A voice that sounded somewhat older sighed.

I kept my breathing shallow, ready to attack. Walking slowly down the corridor, with Cap by my side, Hawkeye stayed utterly silent. I guess that was an aspect of the bird of prey that gave him his code name. I looked at a scorch mark on the wall, confused. Come to think of it, there were a lot of burnt areas, especially around door frames. The whole place looked like a small supernova had been wreaking havoc along the hallways. I would have kept walking if I wasn't confronted by an arrow streaming through the air.

"Clint it's me!" I hissed.

"Negative. Not me." He whispered.

"Stop, or I'll shoot ya where ya stand! It'll go right through your pretty little skull, in between your eyes." The younger voice said, and sure enough there was a woman, on the petite side of average, with a tousled mess of light ash blonde hair pointing an arrow at my forehead. I stopped breathing for a moment.

"Drop your weapons ma'am. We mean you no harm." Cap says.

"Or this'll go right through your pretty little skull too." Hawkeye goaded, and in the corner of my eye, I saw his arrow pointed at the side of the girl's head. She swivelled on the spot.

"You! Ye nasty piece of-" she began.

"That's enough, Brigid!" the older voice snapped, and out of the shadows stepped another woman. She was older, in her late thirties with dark mahogany hair tied up behind her head in a loose bun. So that must have been the less hostile one.

"But mum!" Brigid moaned, not taking her eyes off Hawkeye.

"Brigid… Bow down. In my opinion, a princess shouldn't have weapons anyway." The older woman chided.

Brigid scowled. "I'll put mine down if he'll put his down." She glared at Hawkeye. A bubble formed around the two archers and I stepped back.

"I'm sorry about Brigid. She's a bit hot-headed at times." The older woman apologised. "I'm Danu, and that's Brigid, my daughter."

I looked at Brigid and my eyes widened. Hawkeye had been trying to restrain Brigid and her fists were on fire. "Touch me again, and yer dead. Got it?" she asked.

Hawkeye looked terrified. "Ok." He replied, his voice trembling.

The bubble evaporated as they both lowered their weapons.

"It's ok." I sighed.

"Yer English! Ya little prissy bi-" Brigid began, but Cap cut in.

He stepped in front of me. "That's beside the point ma'am. What we're here to discuss is why the heck you've been killing dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D operatives."

Danu sighed. "I told you not to do it, Brigid." She sighed.

"Well it got their attention didn't it?! Stupid wee pansies." The younger scot muttered.

"We needed to talk to your leader. We have news… On Loki." Danu's expression darkened.

Cap nodded. "Taking out vast amounts of operatives out isn't the way I would have done it, but-"

Brigid interrupted. "You questioning my methods, Yankeedoodle?" she taunted. Her hands set on fire as she glared at my friend.

"Don't call him that, miss." I say defensively, stepping in front ofHe' Cap.

Brigid grumbled quietly. "Fine, madam." I felt old when she addressed me like that, but then, to face the truth, I was.

"Let's go. You can tell Fury your 'information' when we get there." Hawkeye sighed.

"That would be a good idea…" Danu sighed. A group of mercenaries came around the corner.

Hawkeye grabbed onto Cap, who was about to start attacking the grunts. "Let Alice handle this." He said.

I stepped out, pulling my guns up and shooting the mercs. Each one cried out as I shot them. I cursed as another group came along. A few bullets into this wave, I ran out of ammunition. I grabbed the knives from my boots, and as one came near me, I threw it into his side. I pulled it back out again. No point wasting a perfectly good weapon. I flipped one of my assailants over my hip, and heard his back slam into the ground. One of them almost had me pinned down, but with a grab at his throat, the tables turned and I was pressing him against the wall. He panicked and scrambled away. A few others of the hired muscles looked at me, fearful.

"There's more where that came from." I say, brandishing my knives.

They sprinted off and I turned around to the rest of the group. "Shall we get going?" I asked, pulling my hair back away from my face.

Hawkeye was looking at me, almost admiringly. "That was amazing."

Cap examined my face for a moment, as if there was something wrong.

"What?" I asked, confused.

A moment later, he was wiping a cut on my forehead. I blushed. "I'm fine… Nothing, really." I muttered.

"If you say so…" He said, looking at the mercs. I followed his gaze.

"No insignia." Cap sighed.

"Er… Can we maybe possibly get going?" Danu asked, her face barely concealing her nervousness.

Cap smiled comfortingly. I missed when he'd used to smile at me like that. "Sure. Best get going before more of them come." He said, turning around to go towards the helicopter. Danu and Brigid followed Hawkeye and I. We arrived at the helicopter with no trouble and got buckled in. Danu and Brigid sat on one side of the aircraft, opposite the three of us. I crossed my legs as I was sat there. Cap pulled his mask back and his blond hair un-squashed itself. I smiled at him. He looked so cute when his hair did that.

He looked at me, confused and I looked away, red.

"You ok?" he asked, oblivious. I laughed a little and I could see a flicker of recognition in Brigid's face as she groaned. She could tell that I liked 'yankee-doodle' as she'd called him. I gave her a look that said 'do it and die' and she smirked, returning my glance and silently mouthing at me.

'Don't worry.' I lip-read. I smiled.

"Yeah, I'm ok…" I said quietly.

I ran a hand through my hair casually. Soon enough, we arrived back at the Avengers tower, where I'd been revived to begin with.

"That was a successful mission, Alice." Steve said as we stepped out.

"Thanks. It wasn't too bad, getting back into the swing of things." I shrugged a little. Fury greeted us.

"I see you recruited the threats." He sighed coldly.

"They have a skillset we thought would be beneficial to the team." I say, defending them.

Fury shook his head. "Fine. But if they become destructive, it's your responsibility, Williams." He walked off. Danu looks at me, a little perplexed.

"He didn't even look us in the eye…" she muttered, her thick Scottish accent turning sour.

"It's ok. We'll get you all introduced to the rest of them. Although… Stark's a little shit." Clint laughed.

Danu frowned. "Who is this Stark?" she asked.

"Tony Stark. Iron Man." Steve and I said in unison.

"The toaster?!" Brigid laughed, just as Tony came up behind her.

"I'd rather not be called a toaster, if that's ok." He smirked. "So who's this beautiful bi-" he began, but Brigid's glare cut him off.

"Ok. Who are you?" he asked, intimidated.

"Brigid. And this is my mother, Danu." She snapped.

Her mother sighed. "Brigid… Calm down. Let's not have another fight…"

"I'm hungry… Let's go eat." Clint grinned.

Brigid's stomach grumbled in response. "Oh god yes please." She said as they walked off to the cafeteria.

I laughed quietly. "I'm going to go train." I said, turning in the direction of the training room. My stomach let out a similar sound to Brigid's and I sighed.

"Sounds like you're going to eat then?" Steve called after me and I chuckled.

"Yeah, I think so." I turned back and walked to the cafeteria. Steve and Danu followed me. Stark had already gone with Brigid and Clint. I picked up a plate of mac and cheese and smiled, taking a glass of apple juice.

I sat down next to Banner and grinned. "It's a little less awkward next to you." I laughed.

He smiled silently. Danu was sat across from him, eating haggis and mashed potatoes with turnips. Clint and Brigid were opposite each other, laughing about archery puns. Stark sat down next to Clint.

"Hey Legolas." He teased. "How are you and Merida?"

Brigid looked up from her plate. "We're good, tin man." She retorted.

Clint comically inward whistled and said "Ooh… burn."

"want some cream for that burn?" Natasha chimed in, sitting next to Brigid.

Banner laughed and Danu joined in. Tony acted as if there was nothing going on.

"So Brigid. I hear you're one of the new recruits Capsicle brought in." he said.

"Yes I am. Problem?" she replied, stuffing her face with pizza, laden with prawns, tuna and anchovies.

"No…" he said quietly, but smirked. "Brigid's a nice name. Named after anyone?" he asked.

"No. People are named after me." She said. The whole table became silent. Except Tony.

"Ego much?" he exclaimed.

"Says the man with a building that has his name plastered all over it?" she retorted.

Danu sighed. "We're goddesses. Ok?" she muttered.

"Oh… That's pretty cool." Tony shrugged. Clint looked at Brigid, confused.

"Woah." He mumbled.

"Yeah…" Brigid replied. "I apologise for everything I said when I was hungry by the way. Sorry, yankee-doodle."

Steve smiled. "It's ok. It's good to be brought down a peg or two occasionally." He said.

Clint finished his burger. "So, you're a goddess?" he asked, still shocked.

Brigid smiled and nodded. "Yes." She replied simply.

"Damn…" he sighed.

Natasha looked at her. "Seems legit." She shrugged.

Tony laughed. Banner looked at Danu, smiling.

Everything was at peace… for now…


	5. Chapter 5

**A few weeks later…**

I looked at Natasha across the breakfast table.

"So… We still need a codename for you." She sighed, exasperation evident in her voice.

"Um… Bulldog?" I suggested.

"Maybe." Clint chimed in, eating his plate of pancakes with maple syrup, bacon and egg.

"Captain America and Lady Britain?" Natasha shrugged.

"Too similar." Danu said.

"Yankeedoodle and prissy little madam." Brigid smirked.

"Not helpful, Brigid." Danu sighed, taking a bite of her sausage and egg sandwich.

Banner looked thoughtful, trying to think of a name for me. "I'm not sure." He laughed.

Steve was staying quiet, and it was all I could do not to get too annoyed.

"Any ideas, Steve?" I asked quietly.

He shook his head and sighed.

"Why don't you see what they called you back then?" I hear Banner suggest.

"That's an incredibly logical idea…" I smile, pulling my journal from my bag.

_'__Friday 27__th__February 1942_

_Oh my gosh. They have not just done this. They aren't letting Steve, all strengthened up because of Rebirth, actually do any fighting. I'm not allowed to anyway. "Ladies should not be on the front line" they say. Well, Erskine clearly disagreed! Why on earth would he have even considered me for rebirth if he agreed?! Steve and I have been put into propaganda and bonds-selling instead of where we should be, in my opinion. He should be fighting. I should be helping the sick and wounded, possibly fighting by Steve's side, although I haven't had any weapons training. Or combat training of any type. So Steve's becoming 'Captain America' and I'm going to be one of the dancers. Really? I'm going to be, essentially, eye candy. It's ridiculous. It's sexist, patriarchal, misogynistic crap. I can't put any of my skills to use. I have two left feet, honestly!'_

"Okie-dokie." I say slowly. "I was a dancer in the 'Captain America' bonds-selling campaign…" I frown.

Steve spat out his orange juice, like something from a cartoon. Natasha, who was sat across from him, scowled and picked up a napkin, wiping the liquid from her face.

"Sorry, Nat." he apologised, before turning to me. "You're kidding me?" he said.

I shook my head. He sighed.

"I didn't expect that." He muttered, rubbing his face gently.

"Why didn't you expect that?" I asked.

He shrugged. "You just don't seem like the kind of girl that would be happy about that." He said.

"I wasn't. I thought it was stupid. Firstly that you weren't going to be fighting, secondly that I was going to be 'Eye candy.' It was sexism and misogyny at its worst." I said.

Brigid grinned. "I'm starting to like her." She mused.

I smirked. "As long as you don't call me Prissy Little Madam anymore." I shrug.

"Anyway, shouldn't you two be talking to Fury?" Clint asked.

Danu nodded. "I'll talk to him, Brigid has to learn to make friends and not threaten them." She sighed, standing up. She'd finished her breakfast while I'd been reading.

Brigid's grin quickly became a scowl. "Fine." She said.

"We'll go train, I guess." Clint yawned.

"I'll stay here. Alice should go with you, she needs to acclimatise." Natasha said.

I nodded, finishing my meal and taking my plate back to be washed. Danu followed and then went to find Fury. Clint smiled at Brigid as they spoke.

I stretched and tapped Steve on the shoulder. "You coming?" I asked.

"Sure. I'm sure Fury will tell us if there's anything major." He reassured.

He stood up and once he'd given his plate and cutlery over to be cleaned for lunch, we walked to the training room. Brigid and Clint were close behind.

We arrived and I decided that I'd shown Clint enough of how I'd work with long distance weapons. I stood at the close combat station.

"I think that might be a hint, Steve." Barton said, with his hand at the side of his mouth.

Steve's mouth curved into a smile. He had an infectious smirk and I soon broke out grinning. "But I don't want to hit a lady…" he whispered to Clint, not knowing I could hear.

"What makes you think you have a chance?" I teased.

He shook his head. "Ok then Alice." He walked over, and I took off my hoodie so I was just wearing a plain yellow t-shirt and jeans.

I was bouncing on the balls of my feet. Somehow, this all felt natural. He smirked at me and swung a punch that I easily dodged. Clint was firing at a target, Brigid doing the same, only faster. Better. Even more accurately. Steve and I continued sparring. He'd barely hit me yet. I attempted to punch him, but it was blocked by muscular arms that almost felt like brick walls. I glanced down at my hands for a split second, a little shocked. He smirked and tried to punch me again, but I ducked under it. We carried on like this for quite some time, always dodging or blocking the other's blow. After a while, I'm sure Clint and Brigid stopped to watch us. Eventually, we reached a stalemate. Both of us had the front of the other's shirt in our hand, in an effort to unbalance the other. We let go simultaneously.

Clint applauded. "Well done. I never thought I'd see the day Cap got matched."

Steve chuckled. "Neither did I, but looks like I've found myself a challenge." He said.

"In more ways than one." Brigid said, looking me up and down. I frowned.

"Never mind. Anyone want to go get fondue later?" Clint asked.

My eyes widened, although I wasn't sure why.

Steve sighed. "You know that's something you shouldn't say to me, Clint…" he rubbed his face with the heel of his palm. I was getting a drink from the water fountain in the corner of the room.

"What's the deal with you and Yankeedoodle?" Brigid whispered in my ear.

"Friends since we were kids, but he forgot me, after he woke up from the ice. I don't know why. It just aggravates me that he doesn't know who I am." I reply equally quietly.

"Oh. I think I'll talk to him." She shrugs.

"I guess you could. Doubt it would make any difference." I mutter.

"Nothing bad can come from trying." Brigid counters.

I smile. "Ok." I say.

I took a cupful of water, gulping it down.

"Yeah, let's get fondue later." I laugh.

Steve smiles. "I don't see why not."

Clint grins. "Okay then." He chuckles.

Fury and Danu came into the training room, deep in discussion.

"Yes, I understand." He said.

Danu's face was pale. "But you clearly don't." she said.

"I do, but at this moment in time, our main priority is rebuilding New York." Fury sighed.

"What for? It'll just get destroyed again if you don't do what I'm suggesting! He's a psychotic god! You really think that just sending him back to his home world will sort him out? NO! It won't!" she snapped.

"We have people there to sort him out." The director said, clearly trying to stay calm.

"But he's not going to stay sorted out." Danu pleaded.

Fury didn't make a comment.

"I'm guessing this is about Loki?" Steve asks.

Danu nodded. "Fury doesn't believe me."

"Because it's irrational. He's locked away in Asgard." Fury sighs.

"For now." Danu muttered.

"Loki?" I frowned.

"Long story." Clint said, exasperated.

"I'm a good listener." I shrugged.

"It'd be easier for you to watch it… The news reports, I guess, Director?" Clint asked.

Fury nodded, and led me to a small room with a projector. Danu, Clint, Steve and Brigid were behind me, to my surprise. We all sat down to watch the news reports. I was horrified to see how this Loki had treated the people and couldn't hide my anger when I was him attacking Steve.

When all was done, I took a deep breath and stood up.

"This is what I'm scared of. People getting hurt. Again." Danu sighed.

"But he's restrained." Fury said simply.

"Och, shut it! He's not safe in Asgard! He's going to break out! For all we know, he has!" Danu snapped.

"Then we know what to do… Either stop him breaking out, or make sure he doesn't hurt anyone." I say quietly.

"I agree." I hear someone say, and to my surprise, it was Steve. Smiling slightly, I looked at Fury.

"It's better to be safe than sorry." I said.

"I hate it when you guys are right." The director muttered, walking out.

I smiled. "That settled it." I said.

"Yeah. Any ideas to his whereabouts, Ma'am?" Steve asked Danu.

"No, just some ideas of… Something he might be coming back for." Her and Brigid exchanged glances, much to our confusion.

"When the time comes, you'll know." Brigid said, looking at her feet.

I nodded and we filed out of the room.

"You did good, standing up against him." Clint says, patting my back as congratulations.

"Thanks." I laughed.

I ran a hand through my hair, fingers subconsciously plaiting it.

"You look peaceful when you do that." I jump at the sound of Bruce's voice.

"Woah! What the- You're like a ninja!" I exclaimed, my hand springing free of my hair.

"Now you look like a deer in the headlights." Bruce chuckled. He had a low voice, and it was soft and friendly at the same time.

"I'm not surprised. Stop being a ninja for a bit, ok?" I laughed.

"The game you made is really fun." He grinned as we heard a yell from the lab.

"Why the hell am I being shot at in this game?!" Stark yelled.

I choked back laughter. "er- I'm not quite sure, Tony…." I called back.

Steve frowned and I made a cutting motion with my hand across my throat.

Bruce was hiding his mouth, listening to Tony's startled exclamations.

"What! This is just – I can't – ugh! Why is this so gory?!" the words echoed from the room and I burst out, full on cackling.

Bruce's eyes widened at my reaction, as I slid down the wall, laughing so hard I couldn't talk. Clint looked at me, as if to say 'What the hell?' but I couldn't explain. I just sat there, laughing uncontrollably.

"Calm it, Capcicle-ette." Clint laughed.

"I- can't!" I said between breaths. Eventually, I calmed down, my face flushed bright red.

"Well… That escalated quickly." I said, standing up.

They smiled at me, as if to say 'You don't even know the reference, do you?'.

"I-I don't understand this reference…" I rubbed my eyes tiredly.

"Story for another time, Alice." Tony said from beside me.

"Woah! This place is full of ninjas!" I yelled.

"None as good as me." I heard a voice say from above.

I looked up to see Natasha, stood on one of the beams of the ceiling. I grinned.

"Nah, none quite that good." I laughed.

"We're all ninjas here." Clint said.

"I KNOW THAT REFERENCE!" I exclaimed. "Alice in Wonderland. Kind of." I say.

"I think it's time for a bit of friendly competition… Steve versus Alice. Who can name more references. Over the space of a week. Starting now." Tony grinned.

"You're on." I say confidently, winking at Steve.

"It's lunch. Let's go eat." Tony said.

"I think I'll stay and train." Steve sighed.

"You sure?" I asked. He responded with a nod.

"So long, Soldier." Clint called behind him as they walked off.

"OOH! ALL TIME LOW!" I laughed.

"one, nil to Alice. You need to catch up!" Tony chuckled.

"I'll try. Hit me with your best shot…" Steve smirked.

"PAT BENATAR!" We yelled in unison.

"Neither of you win." Clint called back.

I laughed. "See ya later." I said, running along to keep up with the rest of the group as we filed in for lunch. Steve walked to the training room, sighing. It was almost inaudible, but it was there. A _sigh._


	6. Chapter 6

I do NOT own any of the characters (except Danu, Brigid, Alice etc and the three new characters you will meet in this chapter). Also, I do NOT own any other references in there (any of the bands I mentioned, any Disney movies, and any other references)

P.S. There's a reference to the Hobbit in there, keep your eyes peeled!

* * *

My hands fumbled at the buttons of my cardigan as Brigid dragged me around the shopping centre. "Come on Alice!" she whined. Natasha smirked as I laughed and followed her, still nervous about getting new clothes. What if I didn't like anything there? What if nothing suited me? What if nothing even fit with the genetic enhancements I'd undergone? My mind raced, even as we went in. The shop we went in was dark and rock music played in the background.

"That's kind of cute…" I say timidly, pointing at a tie-dyed hoodie, gradient in the colours of the rainbow.

"That might suit you. I think." Brigid says, picking one up in my size.

Natasha smiles. "I think you're getting used to this, Alice." She says.

I nod slightly. "I guess so."

We kept shopping around, picking up jeans and t-shirts and combat boots (to which I was fairly accustomed) and paid for it. It was fun, just going out as the three of us. The three amigos. I heard a little squeal and a laugh from Natasha as she ran over to a blonde woman with several shopping bags. Stood next to her was Tony, smirking slightly. Brigid and I strolled along behind.

"This is Pepper Potts." Natasha introduced her.

"Hi…" I say, smiling.

"This is Capsicle mark two." Stark introduces me. "Along with Brigid, but I'm torn between Haggis and Merida." He smirked and Brigid raised an eyebrow.

"I will destroy you." She said, her voice as dead pan as her expression.

Tony's smile faded and he seemed to shudder a little.

"That took the wind out your sails, huh?" Pepper chuckled.

Avoiding verbal responses, Tony's shoulders sagged, demonstrating the fact that he, for once, was intimidated. I ran a hand through my hair, silent.

"Sorry about Tony's… Nicknames. You must be Alice." Pepper smiles. I nod.

"It's ok. I'm getting used to it by now. I've been Capsicle mark two, and I don't know how many other things. It's actually kind of funny at times." I shrug.

Natasha smiles at Pepper. "So how've things been? I've not seen you since before New York. A _long_ time before New York."

Pepper shrugged. "It's been-" she was cut off by Natasha's phone ringing.

"What? He's… Yes sir. We'll be there soon. Make sure he doesn't eat all the pop tarts." Natasha smiled as she hung up.

"Sorry to cut this short, but we're needed back at S.H.I.E.L.D. as soon as possible." She sighs.

"What's up?" Tony asks.

"You didn't guess from 'Pop tarts'?" she cocked her head marginally.

"Oh… oh no… Not Goldilocks again…" Stark groaned.

I looked confused, my expression matching Brigid's.

"We'll explain when we get back." Natasha says in answer to my quizzical gaze.

I nod. About fifteen minutes later, we're all back at base and sat around a table. We sat in this order; being Natasha, Clint, Brigid, Danu, Bruce, me, Steve, Pepper and Tony All nine of us exchanged confused glances until Fury came in, followed by three young-looking scientists. Pepper smiled brightly at one of them, who winked back. I was confused by this exchange of gestures, but I guessed they were related in some way. One of them wore a cold, sombre look and the other wore a long white tank top with a pale orange tiger on it.

"I told you she'd wake up." The cold-faced one said to the one with the tiger tank-top. "If only… If only Phil could see it." She said, eyes welling up with tears.

"I've called you all together because of something very important. Ebony, Imogen and Elaine detected some unusual readings." Fury begins.

"Yeah…" the two who were stood closest together sighed. "I'm Ebony Hill." The one with the tiger tank top introduced herself. "I'm Imogen…" her voice broke as she finished "Coulson." The remaining one, Elaine, sighed. "Hey. 'Sup. I'm Elaine Potts." She tilted her head, shrugging.

"So it started early this morning, when we got into work at about…" Ebony looked over to Elaine for confirmation. "8 o'clock. We didn't think much of it, but it continued till…" she looked at the clock.

"12 o'clock." Imogen finished. It was now one o'clock. "When-" Imogen, about to continue, looked startled by the sudden burst through the door.

"Greetings, Friends!" the blonde, well-built male exclaimed as he came in. His eager grin faded when he locked eyes with Brigid.

"You…" she growled.

"Lady Brigid…" He almost squeaked.

In a blur of fire and light, Brigid launched herself at him. Clint's eyes widened as he saw Brigid with her hand in a ball of fire, threateningly close to the man's face.

"Brigid… Put Thor down." Danu said, her voice low and threatening.

Reluctantly, the younger Goddess lowered her hand.

"So it was Thor!" The young scientists piped in eagerly.

Brigid glared Thor right in the eyes and he gulped.

"Lady Brigid…" Thor said, trying to calm her down.

"You with yer Vikings and pillaging and awl that!" Brigid snapped, furious.

Thor winced. "My apologies, fair maiden." He said.

"Fair maiden? You called me Fair Maiden? Those days are long gone, Pikachu." Brigid snarled. Tony applauded.

"Wish I'd thought of that one." He remarked.

Clint grinned.

"Well, Miss Alba… Please sit-" Fury begins.

Brigid turned and glared at Nick. "Y'all Motherf***ers on your own." He said, stepping back with his hands thrown up in the air.

"Babe… Calm down." Clint said.

"I'm not a talking pig..." She growled, fists full of flame.

"Sorry…" He flinched.

Bruce was sat watching it all go on, quite calmly. Danu's hand, I noted, was intertwined with his. _'When did this all happen?'_ I think to myself, confused.

"Bri… Calm down please." I sigh exasperatedly.

"Brigid! You're not too big for me to put ya over ma knee and tan yer arse!" Danu snaps.

Tony sniggers.

"Och, don't think you're not in trouble, Antony Edward Stark." She says, her accent thickening.

Tony let out a little high pitched 'Meep' and lowered his head. I looked between the two of them, surprised.

"Fine." Brigid muttered, fixing Thor with a punch to the arm, which even the God of Thunder winced at. Thor came over, patting Steve on the shoulder.

"Is this a lady friend, Captain? Because she is most fine indeed." He whispered to Steve, but he was so loud I heard him. Colour flushed to my face and with a quick glance at his, I could tell we both had the same colouring in our cheeks. Bright red.

"Uh… Well…" Steve said. I could literally feel the embarrassment rolling off him in waves.

"That's Alice." Danu introduced me.

"Ah… Alice…" Thor walked over to me.

"What's the issue dear? Why are you holding back from such a man? Is it the clumpy way he walks? Or the grumpy way he talks? Or the pear-shaped square-shaped weirdness of his feet. Although we know he washes well he always ends up sort of smelly, but you'll never meet a fellow who's as sensitive and sweet. Are you holding back your fondness due to his unmanly blondeness?" Thor asks. I was still bright red and turning brighter by the second.

"You're blonde too…" I heard Steve mutter behind me.

Thor let out a hearty laugh and I smiled a little. The room went quiet for a moment and I could feel the eyes of everyone else fixed on me.

"Well..." I muttered, tomato red.

"Let's give her a little time." Brigid smiled.

"What brings you here then, point break?" Tony asked.

"I heard of my brother's return." Thor said simply.

"So you're Loki's brother?" I asked.

Thor nodded slowly.

"Ok then." I said, slowly making sense of the situation.

"You know what he wants, don't you?" Brigid asked quietly.

"I am afraid I do… But I think it would be… best to leave that for now." He muttered.

"It is just a suspicion." Brigid shrugged.

"Am I the only one totally lost here?" I asked, eyebrows knitting themselves together.

"Not really." Steve sighed.

I looked at Brigid and Thor.

"But… maybe…" he was saying.

Brigid shook her head. "No… it's unlikely…" they seemed to be discussing things.

I pulled out my journal and read another few extract.

_'__Monday 2__nd__March 1942._

_This is terrible. We just had the first show. I hate it. All the men in the audience seemed to be staring at me. How can I be one of these 'Star-spangled dancers' when I have two left feet? It's insane! I'm just there to look pretty. To be eye candy. To be… looked at. Like a toy. It makes my flesh crawl. Steve actually seemed to be alright out there. It wasn't perfect, but he did well._

_Tuesday 3__rd__March 1942._

_I'm so thankful I have Steve. You know how clumsy and stupid I am around guys, right? Well, today after the show, a couple of guys started flirting with me. I did not like it. At all. I bunched my fists up and they just kept trying to flirt. "Hey, sugar." One of them said. "Leave me alone." I said calmly back. "Aww, why? You're a cute British gal." one of the others said. "Leave me alone." I repeated. My fists had clenched and I was going to fight them. I punched one of them and the other pinned me to a wall while I strained against them. Next thing I knew, Steve was dragging him away from me, shaking his head. "Al, you really know how to get in trouble, don't you?" he'd asked with a sigh as he came back. "No wonder, learnt from the best, didn't I?" he chuckled at my remark and we walked back to our accommodation together. I'm still sick of being a show girl.'_

I nudged Steve slightly, pointing at that entry.

"I remember saving a showgirl from a couple of guys, but I don't remember it being anyone specific." He says, looking down at it.

I sighed. "Well, it was me." I say.

I read on and on, lost in my own past, until I got to an entry that made me stop.

_'__Tuesday 17__th__November 1942._

_We just performed in front of the 107__th__. Bucky's unit. He wasn't there. Steve and I only found out when Peggy told us which group it was. Peggy pulled me to one side afterwards. "I need your help with this. You know your helmet for the show, specifically __**your**__ helmet, is bulletproof, correct?" I frowned. "I didn't, actually." I responded. "Well it is." Peggy continued. "And I need to give that one to Steve, since… since he's going to go and find the captured members of the squad." She said. I nodded, walking to the dressing room and taking the helmet with a large A on it that was in the pigeonhole with my name on. Handing it to Peggy, I sighed. "He'll be ok." She said. I hope so._

_Wednesday 18__th November__1942._

_I can't think properly with Steve still gone. What's happened to him? I can't write much, too worried._

_Thursday 19__th__November 1942. _

_I feel like I've lost a limb right now. I don't know where Steve is or what's happened to him, I just can't stop worrying._

_Friday 20__th__November. _

_I feel like the weight of the world's fallen off my shoulders. The three amigos reunited once more. Bucky's still alive, thank God, and Steve only lost communication because he couldn't call us on his locator because it broke. Thank God. I was panicking so much. I'm not alone anymore. I'm still coming to terms with it. I'm not alone anymore. They're alive. And safe. Everything is good.'_

I relaxed, happy about this. It was good that they'd been safe. Steve, reading over my shoulder, smiled, albeit a confused smile.

"Do you remember that?" I asked. He replied with a simple nod. I looked up at Brigid and Thor, who'd gone silent.

"Why is everyone quiet?" I mumbled awkwardly. Danu's fingers were still interlocked with Bruce's and I smiled slightly. Ebony was hugging Imogen as she cried quietly. She was talking, almost inaudibly, but I could hear her.

"Why didn't they tell me sooner?" she whispered.

"I don't know, Gen." Ebony sighed, rubbing circles gently on her friend's back.

"It's been a whole month and they didn't have the nerve to tell me until this morning?" she sobbed quietly. "A month since Uncle Phil… dying…"

Ebony responded with a simple "I don't know why." And no more words were exchanged between the two scientists for a while.

No-one else spoke for quite some time. I stared at the cover of my journal, unsure of what to do now. Steve looked down at his lap.

The silence lasted until at last, Tony's stomach grumbled.

"Let's go eat." He said, standing up and walking out to the cafeteria. The rest of us followed. Elaine and Pepper walked behind Tony, talking.

"Ellie, your fangirling will be the death of you." Pepper laughed.

"But I can't help it, I mean, Kili is by _far_ the most attractive of the dwarves. Don't even try to deny it." Elaine explained.

"Just don't fangirl at work, Elle." Pepper sighed, smiling.

I stood in the middle of the group, humming 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' and I felt Ebony slip her arm to link with mine, Imogen on the other. Elaine joined on Ebony's side. I grinned and we all started singing.

"We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz. We hear he is a whiz of a wiz. If ever, oh ever, a wiz there was, the wizard of Oz is one because, because, because, because, because… Because of the wonderful things he does. We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!" we sang, laughing. We went to get our food.

I picked up an enchilada and cola. Imogen was behind me with pizza and chips, Ebony with sausage and chips and finally, Elaine with spaghetti Bolognese. Imogen stayed quiet for a while, eating. We all did, actually.


End file.
